Peter Sweeny talks about having no power for four days after Friday storm in Pleasantville March 5, 2018.
Carucha L. Meuse /lohud.com

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Utility pole down on Lake Street in Pleasantville causing the road to be cut off from traffic on March 5, 2018. This is Day 4 of no power for residents in the area.(Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)Buy Photo

Valerie Stanzione described a harrowing few days since winds toppled a tree and power lines Friday, trapping residents inside a cul-de-sac in Pleasantville.

The nor’easter sent the Stanzione family and other neighbors scrambling to find shelter, a saga that stretched into Monday as 40,000 Con Edison customers waited for power to be restored.

The escape from a Pleasantville cul-de-sac story started with the thunderous crash of a tree outside Cy Court. After a cold night without power, about 15 neighbors awoke Saturday to find the downed lines still blocking the roadway.

Then the exodus began as the Stanziones and others shoved some clothes and necessities into bags. Faced with still whipping winds, they slogged through backyards to get picked up by friends and family who drove to a nearby street Saturday. Many from Cy Court remained displaced Monday afternoon, Stanzione said.

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Utility pole down on Lake Street in Pleasantville causing the road to be cut off from traffic on March 5, 2018. This is Day 4 of no power for residents in the area.(Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

“The tough part is that a lot of people had to get to work and rent cars, and we’re not getting any help…it feels like we’re kind of abandoned,” she said, speaking from a friend’s home in Armonk.

Stanzione’s husband, Joseph, needed a lift to Westchester County Airport to rent a car to get to work in Stamford Monday. She stayed in Armonk with their two children, Benjamin, 15, and Lily, 8, whose luggage included some hefty hockey gear for a game Monday night.

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A view of down utility pole on Lake Street near Cy Court in Pleasantville on March 5, 2018. This is Day 4 of no power for residents in the area.(Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

No estimates of power returning

Valerie Stanzione, like others in Westchester, talked about peppering Con Edison with phone calls, only to be left in the dark literally and figuratively. She described customer-service reps unable to provide power restoration estimates.

“It hasn’t improved at all, and all they can tell us is they have an open ticket,” Stanzione said Monday, referring to Con Edison workers.

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A view of down utility pole on Lake Street near Cy Court in Pleasantville on March 5, 2018. This is Day 4 of no power for residents in the area.(Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

During a brief visit to check on the house Monday, she encountered a Con Edison worker surveying the damage. Stanzione said the first warning about the power lines still being live came during a brief discussion with the worker.

“No one told us the lines were live; we all knew to stay away from them…but there are small children in our area, which is scary to think about those wires being out there,” she said.

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Utility pole down on Lake Street in Pleasantville causing the road to be cut off from traffic on March 5, 2018. This is Day 4 of no power for residents in the area.(Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

Aside from fears over the downed wires, Stanzione said she spent some time talking to insurance reps about getting reimbursement for the car rental. She described speaking to neighbors who also fled to family and friends’ homes. One neighbor retreated to their second home on Cape Cod to wait out the recovery.

The Armonk house sheltering the Stanziones took in two other people fleeing Friday’s storm, and another family was potentially arriving Monday night if the power didn’t get fixed.

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Utility pole down on Lake Street in Pleasantville causing the road to be cut off from traffic on March 5, 2018. This is Day 4 of no power for residents in the area.(Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

Like many across the Lower Hudson Valley, Stanzione reserved much of her criticism for Con Edison’s storm preparedness and recovery efforts.

“I’m not saying I’m frustrated with Mount Pleasant not clearing the road because Con Ed has to deal with the wires,” she said. “The town made it clear to me that it’s got to be Con Ed fixing this first.”